Passive optical networks are becoming prevalent in part because service providers want to deliver high bandwidth communication capabilities to customers. Passive optical networks are a desirable choice for delivering high-speed communication data because they may not employ active electronic devices, such as amplifiers and repeaters, between a central office and a subscriber termination. The absence of active electronic devices may decrease network complexity and/or cost and may increase network reliability.
FIG. 1 illustrates a network 100 deploying passive fiber optic lines. As shown, the network 100 can include a central office 101 that connects a number of end subscribers 105 (also called end users 105 herein) in a network. The central office 101 can additionally connect to a larger network such as the Internet (not shown) and/or a public switched telephone network (PSTN).
The network 100 also can include fiber distribution hubs (FDHs) 103 providing interfaces between the central office 101 and the subscribers 105. The FDHs 103 have one or more optical splitters (e.g., 1-to-8 splitters, 1-to-16 splitters, or 1-to-32 splitters) that generate a number of individual fibers that may lead to the premises of end users 105. The various lines of the network 100 can be aerial or housed within underground conduits.
The portion of the network 100 that is closest to central office 101 is generally referred to as the F1 region, where F1 includes a distribution cable that provides “feeder fiber” from the central office 101. The portion of the network 100 closest to the end users 105 can be referred to as an F2 portion of network 100. The network 100 includes a plurality of break-out locations 102 at which branch cables are separated out from the main cable lines. Branch cables are often connected to drop terminals 104 that include connector interfaces for facilitating coupling of the fibers of the branch cables to a plurality of different subscriber locations 105.
Splitters used in an FDH 103 can accept an F1 distribution cable having a number of fibers and may split those incoming fibers into, for example, 216 to 432 individual distribution fibers that may be associated with a like number of end user locations. In typical applications, an optical splitter is provided prepackaged in an optical splitter module housing and provided with a splitter output in pigtails that extend from the module. The splitter output pigtails are typically connectorized with, for example, SC, LC, or LX.5 connectors. The optical splitter module provides protective packaging for the optical splitter components in the housing and thus provides for easy handling for otherwise fragile splitter components. This modular approach allows optical splitter modules to be added incrementally to FDHs 103 as required.